Someone has to win

The four teams left in baseball are all losers of sorts. We don't have teams like the wildly successful Yankees or Cardinals playing, we've got four teams all built in losing traditions.

The Phillies have just one World Series title, opposed to four losses, which is the lowest for any non-expansion team. Oh yeah and they've lost more matches than any other team in the sport. They've put together a decent team now, and with no clear favourite for the title they'll believe that they're a legitimate shot at their first championship in 28 years.

The Dodgers have six World Series to their credit, but they've lost twice that amount. That, and the heart and culture of the club was formed in their New York days getting beat up on by the Yankees on a regular basis. Right now this team is riding a hot streak, the hottest of the four teams left, and stands probably the better chance of coming out of the NL.

You can't talk about losing without mentioning the Red Sox and Rays, probably the two best examples of the lesser fate in baseball. The Rays are defined as losers. They lose. It's what they do, and what they do best. This is their first season over the 70 win mark, it's extraordinary. What's more extraordinary is that they're probably going in favourites against a team that has won two of the past four World Series titles.

That of course is the Boston Red Sox, who despite the recent success remain the most recognisable loser in all of sports. Unlike the Rays who have simply lost and lost again, the Red Sox won quite a few matches - they just lost all the ones that counted. Now though those days seem to be behind them, they're establishing a dynasty set to imitate the best days of their arch-rivals.

For the record, I like the Dodgers over the Phillies in 6. The offenses are a wash in my eyes. The Phillies might hit for more power but that Dodgers lineup with Furcal, Martin, Manny, Ethier, Kemp, Loney, Blake and more is just as dangerous, and more balanced too. Seems like the Phillies depend way too much on Rollins, Howard and Utley, who are going to have to have a big series for the Phillies to stay close. Lowe-Billingsley-Kuroda tops Hamels-Myers-Moyer too. The Phillies might have the best bullpen in the NL, but it's not going to be a huge advantage because the Dodgers might run a close 2nd. In the end though it comes down to this - the Phillies struggled to take down a bad team in four games, while the Dodgers dominated a good team in three. I like the Dodgers.

Red Sox-Rays is virtually impossible to pick. I've yet to see a truly persuasive argument for either. Red Sox starting pitching is better, Rays defense is better, Red Sox offense is better, Rays bullpen is better. The greatest edge I think goes to the Rays in the bullpen area. In the middle innings you can genuinely count on guys like Bradford, Howell and Balfour to get guys out. Delcarmen, Masterson and Okajima don't exactly inspire the same confidence. The Red Sox offense is a lot better than the Rays though it must be said. The Rays have one intimidating hitter (Longoria), the Red Sox have four and maybe five. The thing is though that of the four or five guys, David Ortiz is clearly struggling at the plate, J.D. Drew is injured, and Dustin Pedroia had one hit against the Angels. Jason Bay and Kevin Youkillis are good players, but bona fide superstars they are not. Jon Lester is clearly the best pitcher in this series, but the Rays might only have to deal with him twice. Matsuzaka is overrated and Beckett is a shadow of his former self right now. I'll take the Red Sox trio over Shields-Kazmir-Garza, but the gap isn't that great.

I really can't pick a winner here. As unfair as it may sound, I think this series comes down to Evan Longoria's bat. I figure their will be about four, maybe five situations where he'll be in a position where can change the game (bases loaded one out, runners on first and second two out, etc) and if he can come up big in two of three of those I think the Rays win the series. The Red Sox when healthy are clearly the better team, but with Beckett, Drew and Lowell all struggling I'm going with the Rays in 7.